Bangladesh is proposing a $400m road expansion project to reduce traffic congestion in Dhaka.

Several international investors have expressed interest in supporting the highway project, which will be built with participation of private players.

Around 40 public-private partnership projects are in the pipeline, 15 of which involve road projects.

"More than ten international developers and investors have shown interest in the bypass project."

The project chief executive Syed Afsor H Uddin told Infrastructure Investor that more than ten international developers and investors have shown interest in the bypass project.

Last month, a pre-application meet was held, which had seen participation of investors from China, India, the US, South Korea, Thailand and Sri Lanka.

The proposed project will be a crucial arterial route stretching from north to south, linking Joydevpur, Debogram and Madanpur.

The road project will develop the existing two-lane, 48km highway into a four-lane stretch.

The selected bidder will have to finance, design and construct the bypass in addition to operating and maintaining it for 25 years.

Bangladesh is one of the world’s poorest countries and has a high-population density in cities such as Dhaka and Chittagong.

The traffic volume is increasing between 8% and 10% annually in Dhaka and the expansion of the highway is expected to ease the congestion.

According to a study conducted by Board of Investment, traffic congestion in Dhaka costs approximately $12.5bn a year.